The use of protective covering for vehicle door panels are well known in the art. While most are directed to protecting the windowsill or door panel from human oils and sunlight, less are specifically designed to deal with protecting the door panel from pets and scratches caused by pet nails. When a pet is in the backseat the pet often tries to look out the window by placing its paws on the windowsill or arm rest. If the pet's nails are not filed down, the pet will more than likely scratch the door and the upholstery. As one can imagine, it is extremely costly to replace the upholstery, which ultimately leads to reducing the resale value of the owners cars.
Various prior art patent include, U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,292 to Horne discloses a flap that rests against the window glass and the door panel. A second flap is secured to the top of the first flap by the means of a clip. The second flap is positioned over the interior of the door. In order to remove the '292 apparatus, the window is moved to the down position. This requires, first that the vehicle is either running, or that the window be in a down position while the animal is possibly in the back seat unattended. This may cause extreme problems, especially if the animal is prone to jumping out of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,274,026 to Allen that discloses an arm protector for automobile doors. The protector includes a first element, referred to as an L-shaped shield, with a relatively short arm that extends downwardly between the automobile window and the inside door panel, a second element that is a flap member which is designed to extend onto the outer portion of the door frame, and a third element that is a hinge which connects the shield and the flap. The shield is designed to be permanently affixed to the door. The flap folds on the inside of the shield when the window is rolled up, and when the window is rolled down, the flap extends outwardly onto the outer part of the door frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,462,768 to Ortleb discloses a protector pad which includes two separate portions. The two portions are connected together or are secured together by being looped about a stiffening element. The stiffening element, with the two portions secured thereto, is adapted to be disposed against the window on the inside of the door frame. With the window rolled down, one portion extends outwardly over the rolled down window and the other portion of the door frame, and the other portion extends inwardly over the interior portion of the door frame. The apparatus also includes clips extending about the stiffening member and upwardly, over the interior of the door frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,617,679 to Maguire discloses body belt molding apparatus for a vehicle body. The apparatus is designed to be permanently secured as molding on a vehicle body, particularly adjacent to movable glass members, such as on doors and adjacent to doors in vehicles with convertible tops.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,709,620 to Tinsley et al. discloses an automobile arm rest apparatus that includes a concavely configured plate with padding on the outer portion of the plate. Secured to the central portion of the convex element is a downwardly extending spring element having a V-shaped configuration. One arm of the '620 patent is secured to the plate, while the V-shaped portion extends downwardly therefrom and is disposed between the vehicle frame and the window.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,711,344 to Larson discloses another type of arm rest protector for an automotive vehicle. The arm rest protector includes a generally flat plate portion secured to a wire frame. The wire frame includes bent portions designed to lock between the window glass and the adjacent portion of the frame of the vehicle. It appears that once locked in place, it may not be easily removed. The flap moves and pivots on the frame from an upper, use position, where the flap is disposed on the top of the door frame, with the window rolled down, to the storage position on the inside of the door, as when the window is rolled up.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,043 to Reynaldos discloses a flap for an automotive vehicle window which includes a pair of legs at opposite ends of the flap which extend on the inside of the vehicle and are appropriately secured to the inside of the vehicle door. The flap then extends upwardly from the arms and outwardly over the door frame. The outer portion of the flap, remote from the arms, includes magnetic elements to secure the flap to the exterior of the door while in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,957 to Fletcher discloses a combination window sill arm rest and sun screen. The apparatus includes essentially two different portions, an outer portion which magnetically attaches to the outside of the door, and an inner portion which drapes over the door and over the window and is loosely disposed on the inside of the door frame. When the window is rolled up, the magnetically attached portion remains in place, and the inside portion simply moves upwardly on the window to comprise a window screen portion.
It is noted that all of the above apparatus include various types of limitations of inconveniences. Some are easily removed, but others are not. Some require relatively permanent attachments to some part of the vehicle, and others include relatively rigid frames disposed either on the interior of the vehicle or downwardly inside the door between the glass and the door frame.
The apparatus of the present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing an element which is relatively easily installed and relatively easily removed, as desired. The apparatus may conveniently be used whether the window is up or down. The apparatus includes a convenient covering over the interior portion of the door frame to protect the interior of the door frame from pet nails. In addition, the apparatus includes a more convenient means of removing the inserting the apparatus.